Kazakhstan

Visits

Six bilateral presidential visits have taken place since 2009 (four to Paris and two to Astana), as have many ministerial and parliamentary contacts. President François Hollande visited Astana on 4 and 5 December 2014, while President Nazarbayev visited Paris from 4 to 6 November 2015. Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov took part in the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Central Asian countries on 29 March 2017. On 6 and 7 September 2017, the French Minister of State attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, visited the “Astana 2017” Expo.

Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation

France’s influence is exercised via its network of Alliance Française branches, particularly as regards the promotion of the French language. The most recent France-Kazakhstan cross-cultural seasons took place in 2013 and 2014. Academic and scientific cooperation draws on two partnerships. The first, the “Sorbonne-Kazakhstan Institute”, inaugurated in December 2014, offers training in management and international relations. The other, the “Géo-Énergies” centre, created in 2009 and governed for the French side by the University of Lorraine, offers training in oil and mining geology and renewable energy sources.